36. A RE,POR TE,R AT LARGE, H AVING established economic independence through the suc- cessful operation of their indus- tries, the communists at Oneida turned their minds toward a social development that would bless not only themselves but their posterity. Sexual intercourse in the Community was divided (as mankind has always divided it, although rarely admitting the distinction) into acts for a propagative purpose and acts for social pleasure. All sexu.al activities were supervised by the Central Committee, of which Dr. Theodore Noyes, the founder's eldest son and a graduate of Yale Medical School, was an important member. If any man of the Community wished to share the joys of the flesh with any woman of the group, merely for the sake of those joys, he applied to the Central Committee. The Committee were len- ient enough with such requests, usually acting as a go-between, sometimes sav- ing the man the embarrassment of re- ceiving a refusal in person. Or a woman might make such a proposal to a man through the Committee. The consent of the man or woman chosen was neces- sary-and the approval of the Commit- tee. These obtaIned, the man present- ed himself - at the woman's door at bedtime. Naturally, if the eugenic experiment was to be successful, contraceptive methods were necessary to prevent those merely social unions from bear- ing fruit. The system used by the con1- munists, and ardently recommend- ed and defended by John Humphrey Noyes, is defined by the term by which it is usually technically described- "male continence." That this method was successful seems proved by the rec- ord of only four "unplanned" births out of a total of fifty-eight. It was at- tacked by contemporary scientists on the grounds that it tended to make men ner- vous and endangered their health, but Dr. Theodore Noyes, in a surprisingly frank and seemingly unbiassed report, stated that of all the men in the Com- munity he had found but two who might possibly have been adversely affected by It. If, however, a man or a woman wished to have a child by a chosen part- ner and made application to the Com- mittee, the matter was taken under more serious advisement. The Com- mittee investigated the background and heredity of each of the proposed paren ts, , " , , , , . . . . . . . . . . .. . . ... . . . . .... . .", I *. ,. J 'IÆ L ; t & ßj f : J' ,. :1:1. } J: ; ; #:.r1 d , i it'! !:;) ;r '. 5 ' J, j,;:':fl,:'tt1 : i *<:t' · . :. - . , r ,'; 1 Y , :i>'t 7*i ?;" : :' =" , " " ' ", , , ,,' " . ..,.." ", "" ,. < ::' t"'> ' , " , : , > ,, , , . , , ' , : , : , ; , : , , : , : , " : " , ' , ' , .. . .... -." .. ' .. .:..% ':::-:..;'.';". ,,:::::: :: . . ,.:; .:- ':. '. ::? ::;: :' . .,., .. . ' I>,:: , , ' , . , ' , : ,, : ,, : : , : ;: , ; , , I , ': :, ' " ff : ' ' "f "" ;; .. , " " 4" \. ,: i'} . ".. ' ' { , , , .; , iÞ , , . . ::: .. . j' í ;. 11 ...y. -': . '":-.'. ," ,<k,:::::::7::" ; ',:';', '<\, ',' ?1:i ... :. .: ::::-:, .':::tt,' :)" "i . ff0 : CHILDR.E.N OF THE. KINGDOM-II weighed their physical and mental at- tributes, discussed their dispositions and talents. If the conclusions were that the offspring of the pro j ected union would be a superior child, the Com- mittee approved the application. Dur- ing fifteen months when the stirpicul- tural experiment was at its height (a time coincidental with the establish- ment of financial prosperity), nine ap- plications for parenthood were vetoed by the Committee, forty-two approved. In some cases, the Committee on their own initiative recommended the mat- ing of couples who they thought had. complementary qualities which would be highly desirable in offspring. Naturally, the one defection most feared in the Oneida reproductive scheme was falling in love. "Special Love," the communists called it, and it was considered one of the more heinous sins, denying the theory of equal ;;!:( ':: " ' love for everybody, and interfering with the eugenic program. There is a pow- erful tragedy in the still-remembered story of the young mart and young woman who were most loved of all the Community, most often pointed out as models of religious demeanor and so- cial conduct. The diphtheria epidemic took them from the world within a few days of each other, and their griev- ing friends, disposing of their effects, found two diaries in which their guilt of Special Love was all too pathetically betrayed. The offending portions of the diary were forthwith read before the evening assembly amid a profound hush. The shock and sorrow caused by the secret sin affected the whole Community for a long time. The Community had a very sensi- ble way of dealing with the problem of Special Love. One of the more well- to-do communists had been a farmer at . .: .... ..: :,.i, . .... t ..... . ,,:, '..' '. . :- :". ': '::"\" ' r: : 'i:::' ," '::": ........=-t..:".. ":,:. :@I :: :' ' ;: :: :: :':.:;. .1..: .,:" . t. &4..,. .,' ÿ- ""'..", , , '.:' . ::': 0.::::-: ..; : ;\ j . .;....... ...:. ::.-:::::.. '. '. " tf( . .::::" ":' .' 1I' ,, JI,;I! iI\J.&r (CChun Far Clzow Mein CZ2'ith al1Jzonds, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots-for two "